GOAT'S RITE (galega), a genus of plants of the natural order leguminosa sub-order papilionacea, of which one species (G. officinalis), a perennial herbaceous plant, about 3 ft. in height, with pinnate leaves, long pointed leaflets, racemes of generally purplish or pink-colored flowers, and upright nearly cylindrical pods, has been recommended for cultivation in Britain as a forage plant, on account of the great bulk of produce which it yields. It has, however, &peculiar smell, and is not relished by cattle unaccustomed to it. It is a native of the s. of Europe.
GOATSUCKER(caprimulfitts), a genus of birds of the family caplimulgidce (q.v.), having the upper mandible carved at the and furnished aloud each margin with a row of strong hairs or bristles (vibrissce) directed forwards, the hind toe capable of being directed forwards; the claws short, except that of the middle toe, which is remark ably long, and serrated on its inner edge, so as to form a kind of comb attached to the toe. Although the bill is very short and weak, the gape is extremely wide, as if the head itself were divided. The goatsuckers feed on insects, perhaps chiefly on moths, whence they are called moth-hunters, and pursue their prey either in the evening twilight or during the night, in a manner similar to bats and swal ows. Like them, they seem to confine themselves very much to a limited space, in which they often pass and repass at no great height above the ground. They have great rapidity and power of flight. Of course, their great width of gape is favorable for the capture of insects. Goatsuckers are birds of light, soft plumage, in general minutely wattled with gray and brown. One species alone is found in Britain, the COMMON GOATSUCKER or EUROPEAN GOATSUCKER (C. EUrOpati8), also called the Night
Churr, or NIGHT-JAR, from the sound which it produces; and not unfrequently, from the resemblance of its plumage to that of owls, the CHURN OWL or FERN OWL. It is a summer visitant of Britain, coining very late, and departing generally very early; it is more common in England than in Scotland, although its migrations extend northward to Scandinavia, Siberia, and Katntchatka. In winter, it retires from Europe altogether, passing to the s. of the Mediterranean. It often haunts bushy places and grounds covered with brake. It scarcely makes a nest, but deposits two eggs in a depression of the ground, under shelter of a bush. Its whole length is about 10 in. and a half.. This bird is the eaprimulgus. of Pliny, the aigothelas of Aristotle, both these names being exactly equivalent to the English goatsucker, and expressive of the ancient and long entertained popular notion, that this bird sucks the teats of goats, a notion probably founded on the habit—which, at all events, has been observed in some of this family— of hunting insects under the bellies of grazing cattle. In perching, the goatsucker sits lengthwise on the branch. Species are widely distributed over the world.
or VOANDZOU (voandzeia subterranea), an annual plant, allied to the kidney bean, but of which the pod is thrust into the ground in-the same manner as that of the ground-nut (arachisItypogiva, see AnActits), to ripen the seeds there. It is a native of the n.e. of South America, and of some parts of the w. of Africa. Its seeds are used as food. being wholesome and agreeable when boiled.